This game was first published in 1977 by
Metagaming Creations. It was created by
Howard Thompson and
edited by
Steve Jackson.
Warp War is much different from the plethora of
space games that would come after it. In its
microgame compactness it gave the
player a lot to work with.
The first feature you notice about the game are the
unit counters. These have no markings of
strength,
defense,
movement, nothing. On the counter is a number and a picture of a
ship. Thats it. The real
information is kept on
paper for the very good reason that in each game each
ship is built by the player. Given a set of Build Points each player is set out to
construct a ship and give it
Drives (warp or non warp)
Weapons (laser beam and or missles)
Screens (shields)
Racks (if you build a warp ship it can hold other non warp ships)
The next thing you come across is the combat resolution table. Unlike most all other board game there are no dice involved. The outcome of an attack is determined by the strength or the attackers weapon versus the defenders shields and the movement of both the attacker and the defender. A defender could well get away from a ship that outguns its by running like hell. In practice this comabt system works extermly well.
Ther are several scenerios set up in the rules but there are endless possiblitites for home brewed ones.
The replay value for this game is high.